Hearts of Oak and Kotoko both saw their title ambition suffer setbacks as they lost once more to allow Aduana Stars to restore their gap at the top.
Meanwhile, relegation-threatened clubs like Great Olympics and Karela earned crucial wins to remain hopeful of survival while Legon Cities moved to the top ten.
Here are five talking points from the matchday 28 fixtures of the Ghana Premier League.
OLYMPICS TRY HARD TO BREAK OUT
Great Olympics are ensuring not to leave it too late in their battle for survival. The two-time champions have made significant changes from coaches to switching venues just to make sure they stay in the league for next season. The latter seems to be paying off after all because, for the first time since January, Great Olympics have avoided defeat in two consecutive games following their crucial victory over Asante Kotoko at the Sogakope Park which has pushed them to the 14th position. While they still have a few more games to accomplish their goal, they will still need to shove off competition from other struggling clubs like Karela United, Dreams FC, Nsoatreman, and Kotoku Royals among others.
LEGON CITIES ENTER TOP TEN
The Royals are acting right according to the dangerous nature of the league table and have risen to 10th after a remarkable feat of winning three in a row. Legon Cities have recorded a 2-0 victory each over Kotoku Royals, Karela United, and Accra Lions making it their first three consecutive wins in a year. Maxwell Konadu’s men may now hold on in pressing the panic button as similar favourable fixtures approach. They will play two debutants, Nsoatreman and Samartex, and relegation-threatened Dreams FC among their remaining six fixtures.
UNPREDICTABLE TOP SCORERS’ RACE
Another captivating battle in the Ghana Premier League has to do with the top scorers’ race because each week sees a new contender despite the somewhat consistent few who have stayed at the top all season. Again, it may also look competitive because the competitors do not have many goals to their name. For instance, Sampson Eduku’s brace for Tamale City against Hearts of Oak on Wednesday puts him on 12 goals and with just a goal less than the leader, Hafiz Konkoni. Mezack Afriyie, Stephen Mukwala, Abednego Tetteh and many others are still in contention with six matches to go.
HEARTS AND KOTOKO FINALLY GIVING UP?
For the first time in the season coaches of the two previous winners of the Ghana Premier League Hearts of Oak and Kotoko sounded almost hopeless about the pursuit of the title. After their 4-1 defeat to Tamale City, Enock Jordan Daitey, the physical trainer of Hearts of Oak said pessimistically, “The game still goes on. We don’t know what may happen later in the season. We will just keep our focus and concentrate.”
The interim boss of Asante Kotoko Abdul Gazale also mentioned with disappointment how difficult it will be to realise their dream of retaining the title.
“If we are able to finish on top of the league fine. But we cannot continue this way and expect to be on top of the league,” Gazale said after the game.
NSOATREMAN’S AWAY FORM A THREAT TO THEIR SURVIVAL
Nsoatreman had been enjoying an average season by making their home grounds Nana Konamansah Park a difficult venue for many opponents. As a result, the debutant are one of the only three teams to have accumulated 33 points at home so far alongside Bechem United and Medeama SC. However, Nsoatreman have been awful on the road causing them to slip into the drop zone. To have won just a point in 14 away matches is dangerous to their survival ambitions and that is exactly what needs to be worked on if the team really has an agenda of surviving.
